70 posts tagged “gay”
Society's attitudes on LGBT equality have changed, and it is time for the law to catch up. The legal profession must resolve to kill the gay panic legal strategy once and for all.
At its core, the gay panic tactic defines unwanted sexual advances or
statements of one's identity from LGBT people as somehow more severe, or
"provocative," than similar overtures between straight people. In our culture,
most women, even before reaching adulthood, learn how to react to unwanted male
attention: We simply say, "No." Our legal system offers no leniency to a woman
who reacts violently to a pass from a man, no matter how undesirable she may
find the offer.
Furthermore, any similar defense would be inconceivable in relation to other minority populations. Our legal system would not, for example, accept "race panic," as a legal strategy to someone accused of violence against people of color. In fact, the opposite is true. We often administer harsher punishments for violent acts that are directed specifically against other minority groups.
Yet in an LGBT-specific context, and only in this context, a sexual solicitation or a statement of one's gender is equivalent to an attack. Using this maneuver in court means that defense attorneys believe the victim's assertion of his or her orientation or identity is an actual threat. This is the very definition of discrimination.
Unlike the last attempt to knock down Prop. 8, this one looks promising--and since it's happening at the federal level, the results could be massive. Basically, the defense will need to prove that there is a real and substantial reason to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. This will most likely include an attempt to show concrete damage to the foundation of male-female weddings, coupled with arguments that a child is best raised by one man and one woman. If this can't be done, and done solidly and conclusively, then the judges will announce that the law exists only as a tool for one group of people to discriminate against another group, and is therefore unconstitutional and thus invalid.
Attorney for the defense Brian Raum has already gone on record as saying he doesn't see the need for a trial, as Prop. 8 doesn't prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying--provided that they marry someone of the opposite sex. Yeah, things are looking up.
Is it a coincidence that the Ft. Worth police chose the anniversary of the Stonewall riots to raid a gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge and arrest 7 people (hospitalizing one, who may have bleeding on the brain, according to the Dallas Voice) for public intoxication? Did you even know it’s a crime to be drunk in a bar?
Update: Instead of apologizing, the Ft. Worth police department has now issued a press release stating that two patrons made "sexually explicit movements" while a third grabbed the groin of one of the officers. This "gay panic" defense has been refuted by every witness in the bar, including Todd Camp, a former reporter for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. One of the people arrested remains hospitalized with a critical brain injury.
Update: Over a hundred protesters rallied on the steps of the county courthouse to demand an investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in the Rainbow Lounge raid. Afterwards, many marched up and down Main Street carrying signs. Another protest is scheduled for next Sunday.
Update: Dan Savage is all over this now. Not only is his synopsis of the events outstanding, but his readers have drummed up names, phone numbers, emails and mailing addresses for almost everyone involved in any way. This is also where I learned the Rainbow Lounge Raid has its own Facebook page.
Update: There's so much happening on this front now, I may have to make this be the last update, or I'll never stop writing stuff here. But Chief Halstead has suspended operations between his department and the TABC until his investigation into the Rainbow Lounge raid is completed.
"J Richards" suggested that Mark 7:14-16 shows that Jesus approves of homosexual acts. The critical phrase reads: "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him..." Richards suggests that Jesus gave great emphasis to this teaching, directing it to everyone. Richards suggests that the sentence refers to dietary laws and also extends to "blood transfusions, medication, organ transplants, and artificial insemination" and to homosexual acts as well.
Why is this important? Much like XY magazine, 12chan is one of the few media outlets willing to acknowledge the existence of GLBT people below the age of 18, and furthermore to give them voice in a way that isn't heavy-handed, moralistic and "politically correct." Despite its reputation, moderators actually work quickly to purge illegal content when troublemakers post it to the imageboards, and the posts are always being monitored. Each subdirectory has its own rules listed clearly at the top of the webpage, and when judicial developments alter the legal definitions of acceptable and unacceptable content, mods are quick to update the rules to reflect these decisions. Those who choose to violate the rules are quickly smote with the banhammer.
Update: And it's down again a day later, lol. There were rumors circulating about a DDoS attack by 4chan's /b/ board, and other rumors that someone was trying to start a chanwar. I have no idea, but I'll post here again if I see the feeds come back up.
Update: Up again after eight hours, not bad. Better than 7chan's doing, at any rate. Was down from about 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM on 6/20/09.
Update: Backup mirror site 12chan.crabdance.com is also up and running again.
Update: Both sites down 3PM 6/23/2009.
Update: Both sites up 4:30AM 6/24/09 (I'm on Central time).
For clarification, I am posting this because it is ridiculous. I monitor WorldNetDaily's news feed because I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on what your enemies are saying about you, and because sometimes they actually turn up a meritous story that slips past more mainstream gay news sources. Remember, peeps--in with anger, out with love.
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